Two want seat on Fallbrook Public Utility District board

FALLBROOK -- The two candidates running for a seat on the
Fallbrook Public Utility District's board of directors have
differing views on a $60 million project being undertaken by the
agency.

Don McDougal supports the effort to create a new water storage
facility to be shared by the district and Camp Pendleton while his
opponent, Archie McPhee, opposes the project.

The two are running for a four-year seat on the district board.
The incumbent, Bob Francis, opted not to run for re-election. The
district provides water and sewer services to about 9,000 customers
in the 44-square-mile area.

McDougal co-owns The Grand Tradition, a popular wedding and
banquet facility and served as president of the Fallbrook Chamber
of Commerce last year. McPhee is a retired civil engineer who also
serves as a vice president of the Fallbrook Reche Club.

The project the two are at odds over is known as the Santa
Margarita Conjunctive Use Project, a $60 million undertaking. It
would use the Santa Margarita River to supply water to Camp
Pendleton and Fallbrook residents. If built, the project would
store a portion of the river's flow in an underground aquifer at
Camp Pendleton, then pump water from the ground to a treatment
plant that would be built for the project. The water would then be
pumped either to Pendleton's reservoirs or back to the
district.

A bill that authorized construction of the project won approval
from the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this month, and has
now gone to the Senate. The bill authorized $60 million for the
project but did not appropriate any of the funds. Funding would
have to be determined by the House and Senate appropriations'
committees.

McPhee takes issue with the project, which would be funded in
part by a low-interest $25 million government loan to be paid back
by district ratepayers. McPhee said district ratepayers should vote
on such matters.

"I'd like to get a proposition passed that requires all spending
in excess of $1 million go before district voters for approval,"
McPhee said. "All debts over a certain amount should have to be
approved, I don't care what kind of debt it is."

McPhee said he favors more desalination projects to increase the
local water supply.

"By my house, the Santa Margarita River is 10 feet wide and at
deepest point and about 5 inches deep," McPhee said. "It's just a
stream right now, and it may get lower in times of drought.

"It doesn't look like an intelligent project to me. I feel like
desalination from the Pacific Ocean is the way to address drought
conditions in Fallbrook."

McDougal supports the river project, which he said would provide
district customers with a locally generated, inexpensive and clean
water source.

"It creates a future water supply for our community so that we
don't have to depend on expensive imported water," McDougal said.
"It generates a substantial amount of water for a long term local
supply."

When it comes to style, McDougal said he views McPhee as a
divisive.

"The gentleman I'm running against has been a very disruptive
force trying to fraction the board," McDougal said. "If we let
someone like that on the board, it could pull the district
apart."

In response, McPhee contended that McDougal is a close friend of
the district's general manager and predicted overall district
spending and water rates could rise if McDougal is elected.

McDougal said he is pleased with the way the board and
administrators have run the district.

"I … want to ensure the board continues to operate in an
effective manner," McDougal said. "I have a strong, 30-year
background in business management and will work toward collective
goals."

District directors receive $40 a meeting for up to 10 meetings a
month.